Modern society requires users to provide personal information to enroll in various processes. Examples include admission to hospitals, registering at hotels, applying for bank loans/mortgages, appointments with physicians, checking-in for flights, and the like. Users are commonly asked to provide basic information such as name, address, phone number, etc. Users are also asked to provide specific information relevant to the recipient's process, such as social security number, driver's license number/state, automobile license plate number, insurance group/policy number, checking and savings account numbers, frequent flyer number, etc. The specific information is also typically private or sensitive in nature.
Recipients manually key in information received verbally from users. They also capture it with semi-automated techniques (computer scan) that read entries submitted on paper forms/questionnaires. The former is tedious, time consuming, subject to memory failures of the recipient, keystroke errors, etc. The latter requires movement of personnel back and forth to scanning equipment and sometimes requires waiting for equipment to become available. Both are also insecure as others can overhear verbal information and catch sight of forms. Users sometimes become annoyed at the processes as they are often asked for the same exact information from the same recipients, sometimes in a same day. A need exists to conveniently and securely convey information from users to third parties, especially basic information.
In mobile computing devices, manufacturers are outfitting smart phones with NFC devices to securely transfer information from one device to another in very close proximity. A prominent use of the technology, known as electronic wallets or “eWallets,” enables smart phones to pay for goods/services instead of cash or swipes of credit cards. During times of payment, phones transfer to near field communication (NFC) terminals the details of a user's credit card, e.g., credit card number, expiration date, three digit card security code, etc. The phone pulls the information from a secure area of memory known as the “secure element.” As users often store more than one credit card, the secure element facilitates logical partitions between different cards and their information. Phones equipped with NFC, however, are presently inflexible. By design, users cannot adjust financial information so monetary transactions between phones and terminals occur according to a very rigid and tightly orchestrated protocol. A further need exists, therefore, to facilitate robustness in smart phones to leverage NFC and secure elements. Additional benefits and alternatives are also sought when devising solutions.